This recipe is for a roasted tomato soup with a twist, or two. I grew orange Roma Tomatoes for my sister who likes a less acidic tomato, and the Thai Basil just because it is pretty. The flowers are purple, the bees love them, and they add a burst of rich color in a bed of green veggies. Both plants gave us more than we could eat or give away, so I made soup.

The orange Roma Tomatoes are just as meaty as the red, making them excellent for soups and sauces. Their flavor is milder than reds, less tart, more sweet. Thai Basil is sturdier and has a stronger licorice flavor than the more common sweet Basil (like Genovese Basil, which is used in pesto and spaghetti sauces). The two different flavors balance each other perfectly in this soup. The sweet enhances the spicy, like any good partnership 🙂

A delicious unique twist to the classic tomato basil soup that will up your soup game and impress just about everyone.

INGREDIENT LIST

• • 4 pounds of Orange Roma (paste) tomatoes. Enough to fill 2 cookie sheets (sheet pans) when cut in half.

• • 1/3 cup plus 2 Tbs of extra virgin olive oil (EVO)

• • 4 – 6 cloves of diced garlic. If you have small cloves, use 6, if you have medium to large, use 4 cloves

• • 1 1/2 cups of finely diced onions. I used one sweet white and one red onion. A combination of different onions creates a richer, savory flavor.

• • 1 cup of chopped fresh Purple Thai Basil, flowers and leaves.

• • 1 Tbs of fresh Thyme (if don’t have fresh use 1/2 tsp of dried Thyme)

• • 1 Tbs of Salt

• • 1 tsp White Pepper

• • 2 quarts (8 cups) of Chicken Bone Broth or Chicken Broth (or 1 quart of each). 1 quart is usually one box. Use organic if you can. Bone broth has deeper, richer flavor that simple Chicken Broth. You can see and smell the difference in the broth. If bone broth is too strong a flavor for you, try 1 quart of bone and one quart of regular broth.

• • 2 Tbs red wine vinegar

The bulk of your work will be in removing the stems and slicing your tomatoes for roasting. The rest is basic prep work for assembling your soup. It’s easier if you have a food processor and/or a good blender, but don’t worry about it if you don’t. You really only need a good knife, baking sheet pan(s), a good soup pot, and a potato smasher with a hardy hand to do the work.

• • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, 375 if you are using a convection oven.

• • Slice the tomatoes in half length wise, and cut out the stems

• • Coat each pan with a scant 1 tsp of EVO from the 1/3 cup of EVO or you can line the pan(s) with parchment paper instead of coating the pan(s).

• • Place the tomatoes cut side up and drizzle them with the rest of the 1/3 cup of EVO

• • Place your tomatoes in the oven and let them roast for 20 to 25 Minutes, until they darken, like in the photos. You can certainly roast them longer, but the flavor will be different. They will be more tart with a sharper bite to them.

• • While your tomatoes are roasting, finely dice your onions and garlic. Let them sit for at least ten minutes.

• • Coat the bottom of your soup pot with the reserved 2 Tbs of Evo. Heat on Medium

• • Add your finely chopped onions. Let them sweat for 5-8 minutes – until they’re translucent.

• • Add your tomatoes fresh out of the oven to the pot. Stir them in the oil and onions, coating them.

• • Let the tomatoes and onions cook together for 5 minutes.

• • Add the Garlic

• • Add the Broth

• • Add the salt and Pepper. Let the ingredients cook together for 10 minutes

• • Add the Basil and Thyme. Let everything cook together for another 10 minutes.

• • Blend the soup in batches, using either a standing blender or immersion blender, returning the blended soup to the pot

• • Add the red wine vinegar and let the pot cook for anther 10 minutes and Voila -you’re done!

• • Enjoy your soup right away with some crusty bread or freeze it in batches for a taste of the summer in the middle or the winter. You can store it in the refrigerator for up to a week. Our soup doesn’t last the week once our boys know we’ve made a batch.